The present invention relates to an openable roof comprising a plurality of slidable (movable) roof members which are of partially sectorial shape when viewed from above, and which are arcuately movable along a prescribed arcuate path about a central axis of rotation. The openable roof may be preferable used for a structure having a large internal space, for example, a stadium.
In compliance with the duty of disclosure, the present applicant discloses four U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 7/439,302, 07/502,170, 07/502,613, and 07,523,720.
Openable roofs are highly desirable as they provide sunlight, fresh air, and a sense of freedom when open, while protecting the interior from adverse weather when closed. To this end, various types of openable roofs were previously proposed and developed.
However, most of these openable roofs exhibit one or more of the following problems:
The configurations of the movable roof members and the travelling mechanisms for travelling the members are complicated. In openable roofs, the portion of the opening is necessarily narrow, and the support for supporting the movable roof members must withstand a highly concentrated load from the movable roof members. In addition, since most openable roof comprise large-scale movable roof members, the travelling paths of the movable roof members are extremely long. The changes of the locations of the centers of gravity of the movable roof members are very large. Accordingly, the stability of the movable roof members in transit is necessarily low.